1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the assignment of nodes to CMTS cards and more particularly to a method and apparatus for assigning nodes to CMTS cards in an IP network using linear, integer and binary programming techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telephone systems have traditionally used dedicated wiring strictly for telephony in homes and other locations. However, the information age has caused a large increase in the amount of information that is being sent and received to households. Also, additional phone lines are often desired in the household for voice, FAX and data (computers). In addition, many different types of signals, such as video, are sought to be available at home. In order to handle the various kinds of telephony, data signals and video signals that are now needed in a household and to more effectively carry these signals, different arrangements of wiring are being employed.
Thus, in order to provide a broadband system, an architecture is envisioned using a hybrid of fiber optic cables and coaxial cables to service households. In a typical arrangement, a broadband telephony interface (BTI) box is installed in the home of a subscriber. This interface would provide video signals, data signals and multiple phone lines for use in the household. This box would be connected to a coaxial cable carried by traditional utility poles or underground systems. Several of these cables would converge to a node that connects the cables to optical fibers. These fibers from the various nodes are then connected to a cable modem termination system (CMTS) card. Such a system has the ability to serve effectively the needs of thousands of households. However, it is important to maximize the traffic-carrying capability of the system. One particular problem is the effective use of the CMTS cards which are very expensive and which should be utilized to the best advantage. It is especially necessary to properly assign nodes to the various cards to maximize the service.
The problem of allocating distribution networks using linear, integer and binary programming methods has been studied with regard to communication problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,979 shows a method and apparatus for assigning incoming calls to communications processing centers. In this system, each center's free capacity is calculated and calls are allocated using linear programming methods so that the smallest amount of free capacity is maximized in order to determine the optimal call allocation scheme.